Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics

The code of ethics for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) grew out of circumstance and need, as a relatively modern profession assessed its role in the face of change and challenge. Revised in 2000, the code represents the culmination of decades of input about how the first national public relations member organization defined a set of expectations and responsibilities for its members. At the heart of the debate was a desire to set apart public relations from less savory practices of propaganda and bribery.

This context explains the motivation for a set of beliefs and defined behaviors or code of ethics. By the middle of the 20th century until the turn of the 21st century, the search for these common values fluctuated between the ...